Selon deux journaux américains, aurait accepté de verser 500000 dollars à Samantha Geimer, en 1993, pour que les poursuites pour «relations sexuelles illégales» s’arrêtent. L’accord était secret…

Un secret de 15 ans levé pour cause de non respect du contrat. En 1977, Roman Polanski avait négocié le paiement de 500000 dollars pour que les poursuites cessent. L’accord était secret, mais a été révélé vendredi par le Washington Post et le Los Angeles Times.

Le réalisateur n’aurait pas versé la somme due à Samantha Geimer, avec qui il a été accusé d’avoir eu des «relations sexuelles illégales». La victime avait 13 ans à l’époque des faits.

Un autre document judiciaire datant de 1996 stipule que le réalisateur du Pianiste devait à cette date 604416 dollars avec les intérêts. Nul ne sait s’il a ou non honoré ses engagements à ce jour.

Mais Samantha Geimer, une mère de famille de 46 ans, a souhaité que l’affaire soit classée. Elle regrette que l’affaire soit ainsi médiatisée depuis l’arrestation du réalisateur le 26 septembre. Elle aurait même déclaré que les 42 jours qu’il avait passés en prison à l’époque étaient «excessifs».

Roman Polanski, Oscar du meilleur réalisateur en 2003 et Palme d’Or à Cannes en 2002 pour Le Pianiste est toujours incarcéré en Suisse. Il a été «cueilli» par la police à sa descente de l’avion à Zürich, alors qu’il se rendait au Festival du film et se trouve aujourd’hui dans une cellule «rudimentaire», selon le quotidien suisse Le Matin. Ses avocats ont demandé sa mise en liberté, et ont fait savoir qu’il refusait l’extradition vers les Etats Unis, où il n’avait plus remis les pieds depuis sa condamnation.

Samedi 3 octobre 2009

Equal Mesures 2030 publie chaque année un rapport sur l’égalité de genre, l’un des objectifs de développement fixé par l’ONU. Parmi les 129 pays étudiés, aucun ne peut se prévaloir d’un excellent résultat général. Si les pays d’Europe du Nord comme le Danemark ou la Finlande sont en tête avec de très bons scores en ce qui concerne l’égalité hommes-femmes, la plupart des pays d’Afrique subsaharienne occupent les dernières positions.Mauvais scoresDans le système d’évaluation basé sur plusieurs critères comme l’emploi, l’éducation et la santé, l’Afrique subsaharienne obtient un score moyen de 51,5 sur 100. Le pays le mieux classé est Maurice qui obtient 73,1 sur 100 alors que 29 autres enregistrent des scores “très faibles” et se classent tout en bas de l’échelle, comme les deux Congo, le Niger et le Tchad. Mais au-delà de cette évaluation globale, on apprend dans le rapport que de nombreux pays de la région ont de très bons résultats sur la proportion de femmes au gouvernement ou au Parlement.

Bonnes performances Le Rwanda, l’Ethiopie, la Namibie, l’Afrique du Sud, le Sénégal et le Mozambique figurent parmi les meilleurs. En proportion, le Parlement du Sénégal compte par exemple plus de femmes (41%) que celui du Danemark (37%) qui est pourtant le pays le mieux classé globalement.Cette parité est jugée essentielle à l’installation d’un environnement favorable à l’égalité et à une bonne gouvernance. “Des proportions plus élevées de législatrices sont associées à une baisse de la corruption, à davantage de lois promouvant le bien-être des femmes et des enfants et à une augmentation de la confiance citoyenne dans les institutions démocratiques”, souligne notamment l’étude. 

La dirigeante de l’exécutif de Hong Kong a annoncé, samedi 15 juin, la suspension du projet de loi visant à autoriser les extraditions vers la Chine, à l’origine de manifestations massives. “Le gouvernement a décidé de suspendre la procédure d’amendement législatif”, a déclaré Carrie Lam à la presse après une semaine de protestations sans précédent dans l’ancienne colonie britannique.Hong Kong a connu mercredi ses pires violences politiques depuis sa rétrocession à la Chine en 1997. Des dizaines de milliers de protestataires ont été dispersés par la police anti-émeutes avec des balles en caoutchouc et du gaz lacrymogène. Un million de personnes ont par ailleurs manifesté dimanche dernier.Réunion d’urgenceL’opposition au projet de loi réunit avocats, organisations juridiques influentes, capitaines d’industrie, chambres de commerce, journalistes, militants et diplomates occidentaux. Selon le South China Morning Post, Carrie Lam a tenu vendredi soir une réunion d’urgence avec ses conseillers, tandis que des responsables chinois se réunissaient eux aussi dans la ville voisine de Shenzhen pour tenter de trouver un moyen de sortir de l’impasse.Carrie Lam, qui a été nommée par une commission largement composée de loyalistes pro-Pékin, avait jusqu’à présent refusé d’abandonner le projet de loi sur l’extradition malgré des mois de critiques et de protestations. Mais elle s’est trouvée depuis vendredi devant des appels de plus en plus nombreux venant de son propre camp politique à céder devant la colère de la population.Click Here: geelong cats guernsey 2019

A moins d’un an de l’élection présidentielle ivoirienne – ni la date ni la liste de candidats ne sont encore connues –, la communauté internationale redoute la recrudescence des violences politiques et communautaires, dont le pays est victime depuis plusieurs années. “Tout le monde doit redoubler d’efforts pour que le prochain scrutin présidentiel soit synonyme de succès, de paix pour tout le peuple ivoirien”, a déclaré mercredi 26 juin l’émissaire du secrétaire général de l’ONU pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest et le Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas.Dans un entretien avec le président en place, Alassane Ouattara, M. Chambas a ainsi tenté d’apaiser les tensions intercommunautaires récurrentes dans le pays. “L’élection est une étape majeure dans la consolidation de la démocratie et le développement”, a-t-il rappelé.Un paysage politique en recompositionBeaucoup d’Ivoiriens craignent aujourd’hui une présidentielle 2020 houleuse. La coalition qui avait permis l’élection du président Ouattara en 2010 et sa réélection en 2015, a volé en éclats. Ces derniers mois, la grande coalition présidentielle souhaitée par Alassane Ouattara, concrétisée à travers la création du RHDP (Rassemblement des houphouëtistes pour la démocratie et la paix) en juillet 2018, est encore fragile, peut-on lire dans Le Point. De fortes dissensions au sein même du parti ne favorisent pas l’unité tant recherchée.De son côté, le président Ouattara entretient le mystère quant à une éventuelle candidature pour l’année prochaine. Arrivé au bout de deux mandats en 2020, il aurait dû passer la main. Mais il a fait modifier la Constitution en 2016, ce qui lui donne le droit de se représenter. Une décision que conteste l’opposition, incarnée par une autre figure incontournable de la scène politique ivoirienne, Konan Bédié. Alassane Ouattara se trouve affaibli par sa rupture avec ce dernier, jusqu’alors son principal allié, et par les ambitions présidentielles de plusieurs de ses partisans, notamment Guillaume Soro.Ainsi, huit ans après l’accession d’Alassane Ouattara à la tête du pays, le jeu politique ivoirien reste très mouvant et suscite de nombreuses interrogations. D’autant que chacun garde en mémoire la crise post-électorale de 2011, qui a opposé Ouattara à son adversaire Laurent Gbagbo et pendant laquelle près de 3000 Ivoiriens ont perdu la vie.  

#AlertePollutionRivières ou sols contaminés, déchets industriels abandonnés… Vous vivez à proximité d’un site pollué ?
Cliquez ici pour nous alerter !Une eau turquoise qui ressemble à celle des Maldives. Aux abords de ce lac russe, des séances photo s’improvisent tous les jours. Mais ce décor paradisiaque est en réalité une décharge industrielle utilisée par la centrale thermique de Novossibirsk, en Sibérie.Des métaux lourds dangereux pour la santé”J’ai découvert ce lac grâce à des amis, beaucoup d’images ont commencé à apparaître partout, avec ces eaux bleues. J’ai commencé à chercher des informations, j’ai découvert que c’était une décharge industrielle. Il s’avère que c’est un liquide toxique et peut-être même que nous risquons d’être empoisonnées par l’air aussi“, indique la photographe Alyona. Ce lac artificiel contient des métaux lourds et des sels corrosifs dangereux pour la santé. Face à la polémique et à l’affluence, le directeur de la centrale a interdit l’accès au public vendredi 12 juillet.Click Here: Maori All Blacks Store

#AlertePollutionRivières ou sols contaminés, déchets industriels abandonnés… Vous vivez à proximité d’un site pollué ?
Cliquez ici pour nous alerter !Le monde risque de devoir changer ses habitudes alimentaires s’il ne souhaite pas voir la planète disparaitre. Notre système alimentaire actuel réchauffe l’atmosphère et dégrade les sols. Les experts du climat sonnent l’alerte. “La façon de produire les aliments que nous mangeons contribue à la perte des écosystèmes naturels et au déclin de la biodiversité”, assure Valérie Masson-Delmotte, co-présidente du Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat (Giec).Adapter ses habitudes alimentaires23% des émissions de gaz à effet de serre seraient liés à l’agriculture. En 50 ans, l’approvisionnement en viande par habitant a plus que doublé. Face à ses menaces, chacun tente d’y répondre de la meilleure des manières. Certains Français continuent de manger de la viande mais d’une manière plus responsable. “Je consomme moins de viande mais au moins de la viande de qualité, tout simplement”, confie une cliente d’un marché. Le JT

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The transport sector, which accounts for 32% of all final energy consumption in the EU, is seen as having the second greatest potential (after buildings) for contributing to the goal of a 20% increase in energy efficiency by 2020. 

As the EU transport sector relies on oil and oil products for 96% of its energy needs, it is central to progress towards a low-carbon economy and reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.

Though the sector has become more energy efficient, GHG emissions from transport continue to rise. Even if the EU’s goal of cutting GHG emissions from transport by 20% by 2030 compared to 2008 were achieved, this would still be 8% above the 1990 figure, a long way short of the target for 2050, a 60% reduction compared to 1990.

A transport white paper published by the European Commission in March sets out a vision for transport policy that maintains the level of mobility needed for economic activity while improving resource efficiency. At its heart is a greater diversity of vehicles for transporting people and goods. By 2050, the paper envisages an end to fossil-fuel powered cars in cities, and foresees half the goods currently moved on roads being shifted to rail and waterways.

Cars and light vehicles

The main pressures for improving energy efficiency in the vehicle sector have been the adoption of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions limits for cars and light vehicles. CO2 emissions for vans should fall by 14% from the 2007 average by 2014. The Commission is looking at introducing similar rules for heavy goods vehicles. Technical innovations such as energy-efficient tyres and stop-start systems that cut engines while idling can also contribute to energy performance.

The aviation sector is the fastest growing source of CO2 emissions. The EU is bringing aviation into the EU’s emissions trading scheme from next year to ensure the sector plays its part in lowering energy use.

That decision has been widely attacked. European aerospace company Airbus has warned that it would lead to a trade war with the US. Chinese authorities had threatened to block a planned purchase of Airbus planes if the EU continues to require airlines flying into the EU to buy ETS certificates. But Connie Hedegaard, the European commissioner for climate action, is sticking by the policy, despite the difficulty of getting agreement on regulation for a competitive global sector.

The same problems can be seen in the maritime sector. The Commission has said it wants to reduce GHG emissions from shipping by 40% by 2015. But talks in the International Maritime Organisation have made little progress and the EU is likely to face having to take unilateral action from next year.

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Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoGOP lawmakers call on Twitter to ban Chinese Communist Party from the platform Overnight Defense: First two cases of coronavirus inside Pentagon confirmed | Trump triggers wartime production powers | 2,600 military personnel in Europe being monitored | Task force set up to help stranded Americans Trump-NBC battle highlights shortcomings of White House coronavirus briefings MORE on Friday accused China, Russia and Iran of carrying out disinformation campaigns related to the coronavirus pandemic, in what is an apparent effort to sow fear and confusion.

Speaking at the White House, Pompeo described the disinformation campaigns as being “pretty diffused,” saying that the government has seen individuals, as well as the three foreign adversaries, spread false information online.

“There are coordinated efforts to disparage what America is doing and our activity to do all the things President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate negotiators near agreement on keeping rebates in coronavirus stimulus package Intel reports going back to January warned of coronavirus threat Congressional Hispanic Caucus campaign arm endorses Biden MORE has set into motion,” the secretary said during a press briefing on the coronavirus, standing next to Trump and his coronavirus task force.

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“It is pretty diffused, unfortunately. But we have certainly seen it come from places like China, and Russia and Iran,” he said.

Earlier in the press briefing, Pompeo indirectly cited propaganda that Chinese government officials have peddled in an effort to cast away doubt about the origins of the virus.

A member of China’s foreign ministry has publicly claimed the coronavirus may have started in the United States, while Trump and other officials have repeatedly referred to the “Chinese virus” amid international scrutiny that Beijing sought to cover up the threat of the virus shortly after the outbreak first began.

“When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected?” tweeted Lijian Zhao, a spokesman at the Foreign Ministry’s Information Department. “What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US Army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!”

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Experts believe the coronavirus originated in a wet food market in Wuhan, China, where it was likely passed from different animals until a host carrying the disease transferred it to a human.

Pompeo also noted that there is false information being spread about the U.S. government instituting lockdowns.

“I want to talk about the disinformation that people are seeing on Twitter and around the world, some of it coming from governments and other individuals,” Pompeo said at the start of the briefing. “I just urge everyone as they are seeing information that at one time suggested that this virus somehow emanated from the U.S. army, this information about lockdowns that are taking place.”

His remarks come a week after the European Union (EU) shared that it believes Russia is carrying out disinformation campaigns in Western countries related to the virus.

“With the spread of COVID-19 we have seen a flurry of info, myths and disinformation about it — they are coming from various sources, not only from one, although disinformation efforts coming from Russia, linked to Russia or to clearly pro-Kremlin outlets have noticeably picked up,” Peter Stano, the spokesman for the European Union’s External Action Service, said during a press conference on Wednesday.

The U.S. has also had a recent violent back-and-forth with Iran, including a recent rocket attack blamed on Tehran-backed militias that killed two American and one British service member, a move that was seen as retaliation for the killing of an Iranian general. 

To address the disinformation threat, Pompeo said the U.S. is doing “lots of things” to fight back.

“We want to make sure the American people go to trusted sources for their information. But we’ve made clear — we’ve spoken to these countries directly that they need to knock it off, we don’t approve of it. And then there are a handful of other things we are engaged in to make sure the right information is out there,” Pompeo said, emphasizing that transparency and accurate information protects Americans going forward.

The warnings about disinformation campaigns come after the U.S. intelligence community overwhelmingly concluded that Russia not only hacked Democrats, but they also carried out a sophisticated and widespread disinformation campaign during the 2016 election.

Since then, national security experts have warned that other foreign adversaries may be motivated to copy Russia and to use social media to try to disrupt U.S. elections going forward.

A recent report from the Pentagon says it may take decades to remove toxic “forever chemicals” from the water supply near military bases following a surge in the number of sites with suspected contamination.

The Defense Department now has 651 sites it suspects could be contaminated with PFAS, a class of chemicals used in a number of everyday products and in fire fighting foam used by the military.

That’s a more than 50 percent jump from earlier tallies, an increase revealed in a report this past week from the Pentagon’s PFAS Task Force.

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Now the military must test each site for PFAS, identify how the chemical has spread and craft a plan to remove it — a process that could stretch over 30 years.

“We’ve been pretty clear that the 651 [figure] is where [PFAS] may have been used, which means we need to go in and investigate. So we just don’t know at this point that at all 651 there has been an actual release into the environment,” Maureen Sullivan, the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for environment, told The Hill.

The Pentagon has been under increasing pressure from lawmakers and environmental groups to clean up the so-called forever chemicals that bioaccumulate in the environment and in human blood. PFAS has been linked with cancer, hormone disruption, liver damage and infertility. 

The timeline by the Department of Defense (DOD) shows it will take anywhere from six to 13 years before DOD will begin cleaning up PFAS. The Pentagon needs to evaluate the speed of the contamination and how to best clean it. 

Once the cleanup process begins, it can take anywhere from one to 30 years.

“It’s troubling that we still can’t answer a basic question: How much PFAS is polluting the groundwater and drinking water at military installations? It’s also troubling we can’t answer an equally disturbing question: When will DOD clean up legacy PFAS at military installations?” said Scott Faber with the Environmental Working Group, which tracks the spread of PFAS.

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“They’re not treating the cleanup of legacy PFAS contamination with the right amount of urgency.”

DOD’s timeline follows the steps required under the Superfund law, which dictates the clean-up process for hazardous waste sites.

Betsy Southerland, who was director of the Office of Science and Technology at the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water during the Obama administration, said DOD’s timeline overestimates the time needed to complete certain steps.

In cases where contamination is already known, she said, DOD should be able to proceed more quickly. And in cases where DOD still needs to do an initial analysis, it shouldn’t take up to four years, as prescribed by the agency, to decide on a course of action, Southerland said.

Most of the contamination is in groundwater, meaning DOD will have to pump groundwater, treat out and then refill the aquifer, a process that will need to be replicated at site after site.

“It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion now that they will have to do a groundwater pump and treat,” she said. And while each site will require tweaks, “it’s a much more standardized remedy than what they’re implying here.”

The report and its estimated timelines unnerved some lawmakers who have been pressing the Pentagon for swift action.

“The more we test, the more contamination we will find. Further inaction from the Department of Defense is unacceptable,” Rep. Debbie DingellDeborah (Debbie) Ann DingellLawmakers grill EPA chief over push to slash agency’s budget Where do we go from here? Conservation can show the way Democrats call on Pompeo to restore funding to Gaza MORE (D-Mich.), one of the most active voices in Congress on PFAS issues.

“The military needs to step up and take aggressive measures to not just to identify these forever chemicals, but to clean up these harmful chemicals and transition to the use of safer alternatives moving forward, otherwise more will be poisoned and our long-term national security is at increased risk,” she added.

Sullivan said DOD is able to act more quickly when water has tested above the 70 parts per trillion (ppt) recommendation set by EPA.

“If we know we’ve impacted drinking water on base, we know we’re the source, and we’ve tested that drinking water and it’s above 70 ppt, we will use our authority of removal action to treat the drinking water,” she said.

Sullivan cited a recent example where the military paid to connect a trailer park to the city water supply after the park’s groundwater was affected by a nearby base. In other cases, DOD has provided bottled water or filters to affected households.

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But critics say even with swift action in some communities, the risk for those drinking water under the 70 ppt level is still too high.

In the absence of a federal PFAS standard, many states have implemented their own regulations, levels far closer to 10 ppt.

“Everyone in America is learning the importance of a healthy immune system this week, so why on earth should anyone stationed at a DOD installation be drinking water contaminated with a substance we know weakens the immune system?” Faber asked. 

There’s also concern some water won’t be treated at the 70 ppt level.

Language in the recent Pentagon report indicates the military would not follow EPA’s 70 ppt guidance for treating groundwater that isn’t already a source for drinking water and would instead come up with its own treatment guidelines.

That’s problematic, Southerland said, because that same water might be needed for drinking water in the future.

“They’re giving themselves discretion,” she said. “And we don’t know what that level is going to be.”

Business leaders and economic analysts agree: improving innovation and education will be crucial if Europe is to remain a leading player on the global stage. The EU must invest in its future if it is to avoid falling behind the rest of the world.

The figures are beginning to bear that out. Although the EU remains the world’s largest exporter, it is not keeping pace with some of the world’s emerging economies. In a study for AmCham, the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, published this year, Daniel Hamilton argues that the EU has a decade to improve its position. “If it does not,” he writes, “the resulting strains could challenge Europe’s very construction.”

Hamilton is optimistic that the EU has strengths, including its trading performance and its investment in innovation. But he says that Europe is less than the sum of its parts, plagued by persistently low growth, an attraction for low-skilled migrants when it needs high-skilled ones, and with an ageing population.

It is not all bad news. Europe remains strong in fields such as advanced manufacturing and green jobs. In fact, over the past 15 years the EU has gained export share in both hi-tech and upmarket goods. However, the fear is that even that will not remain the case.

Education and innovation

To reverse the decline, industry representatives such as Jan Muehlfeit, the chairman of Microsoft Europe, believe that investing in education and innovation is vital. Fewer than a third of Europeans aged 25 to 34 have a university degree, compared with 40% in the US and more than half in Japan, while there are only two European universities (Oxford and Cambridge) in the world’s top 20, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

“We need to anticipate the trends,” says Muehlfeit. “Digital skills will have to play such a big part in the future and that will come from education.” And what is needed is not just improved skills but a complete change in mindset – something that has happened in Asian countries. “Europe needs to get an entrepreneurial start-up mentality,” he says.

Fabian Zuleeg, chief economist at the European Policy Centre (EPC), agrees. “Look at how many engineers and scientists China and India are producing compared with the EU,” he says. “Europe does currently have an edge, but you can see that it is gradually eroding because we’re paying far too little attention to our education systems.” Although improvement in education and innovation is one of the main priorities of the Europe 2020 strategy, many commentators fear the targets are not tough enough.

If investing in education is a positive response to the threat from other global players, more negative is an increasing desire for protectionist policies, a phenomenon that most analysts say must be resisted. Additionally, according to most research, free-trade agreements increase European competitiveness rather than diminish it.

However, one significant threat to European competitiveness comes from the different ways in which emerging economies support their companies. One representative from a leading European technology company claims that Chinese companies can operate more cheaply within Europe’s borders because they receive favourable loans – effectively subsidies – from the Chinese government.

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“They are simply buying the market,” says the representative. The European companies who are losing business feel they cannot make public their complaints for fear of being barred from the lucrative Chinese market, but they want the European Commission to make a stand.

“We are not in favour of barriers but there need to be measures to allow fairer competition,” says the representative. “It’s frustrating that Europe’s competitiveness and the fate of Europe’s companies is being determined by the Chinese government.”

Economic analysts are clear: Europe has many opportunities to retain a place on the world stage. Whether through policies to ensure a level playing-field or investment in innovation, the question remains whether Europe’s decision-makers are ready to take the opportunities or let them pass by forever.